Armin_Nikkhah_Shirazi

An atmospheric historical prologue sets the stage for this Werewolf movie set in modern-day Norway, which is enjoyable for most of its runtime.

There is gorgeous scenery and some family drama as the mystery of the first victim's attacker unfolds slowly, with care and sensitivity, and the main actress who plays the police chief holds it all together with her excellent performance.

I happened to coincidentally watch the short horror film FOXES (2011) yesterday which used the heterochromia idea in a similar way as in this film.

The story makes a few unexpected turns here and there, and then comes the finale, where the film somehow goes off the rails by piling one illogic on top of another. This part is so poorly written it almost feels as if the last 15 minutes were written by a different person than the one who wrote what came before.

The werewolf remembers how to get home but not who its family and lover are? The vet wants to use a tranquilizer with no prior experience in this animal? The hunter simply runs his truck into a store intentionally and without a seat belt? The Werewolf with its monumental biting power is unable to bite through a simple protective arm sleeve?

There is also a cutting away technique used repeatedly enough that it becomes annoying. Finally, the ending is left open in exactly the wrong way. We don't know the state of key characters, whether there are more infected people and whether the secret came out. This was a really poor way to end the movie, and it mitigated much of the goodwill engendered. This is mainly just for Werewolf movie fans.

What if there was a door which could take you literally to other worlds, guided by your imagination?

This is the very fun concept explored by HOSTILE DIMENSIONS, a found footage movie in which all the action is seen either via cameras held by the characters or placed elsewhere.

Found footage is a niche genre, and unfortunately there are many such movies which are just not good, probably because they look like anybody and their brother could make one. Consequently, many untalented people attempt to, filling this subgenre with a lot of drivel, Also, there are certain story lines which are used over and over (example: film crew explores abandoned house/hotel/asylum/prison or what have you, and then experiences misfortune), making a lot of these movies quite predictable.

I have seen many found footage films and find it really refreshing to see one that explores a story this potentially mind-bending. It is also quite clear that this is one of those movies where the vision far exceeded the budget. Though the special effects are not top notch, they are adequate to convey that vision, and other nice cinematographic touches, like the colored doors on the beach, effectively contribute to a strange but fun feel for this movie.

The biggest drawback I find is the screenplay, which draws characters who seem unconvincing in their motivations (might be partially also be due to wooden acting in some cases), has some plot holes, could be better on the dialogue and does not quite explain certain things, including the ending. On the plus side, there is a plot twist I did not see coming somewhat around midway. I feel a couple rewrites would have helped a lot here.

So, while this is a flawed film, it is still better (and especially more fun) than the majority of found footage movies and that is how I rated it. Now this concept I would love to see milked more often.

What if there was a malevolent demon which could possess multiple people at once, and use technology to spread faster?

This is the intriguing idea explored in e-DEMON, a live streaming type horror film, in which all the action is seen via livestreams on a computer screen. The unique format has been used to excellent results in horror movies like THE DEN (2013), UNFRIENDED (2014), and more recently and THE HOST (2020) and INVITED (2024). E-DEMON does not quite reach the greatness of these movies, but it is by no means a bad film. The current 3.7 IMDB rating is definitely way too harsh.

I suspect the reason for the low rating is that many people may be turned off by the contrived way the "freakouts" are handled in the first third of the movie, the term referring to elaborate pranks that the four protagonists have a history of playing on each other. This aspect does seem far too forced at times, but once we are past the first third and the protagonists realize something serious is happening, the movie picks up steam.

Other quibbles I have are that an anonymous announcer of the "e-demon resistance" bookends the film, which I found worse than useless because it not only brings nothing of value to the table but spoils the ending, and that some plot progressions at times seem a bit choppy. Leaving the bookends on the cutting floor and smoothing out several transitions would have made for a better (meaning: more disturbing) movie watching experience.

Still, there are some genuinely disturbing moments as the movie takes the live streaming concept to interesting places, and features innovations like a first-person view of a drowning and jumping out of a car.

Throughout watching this I was reminded of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978) which I still consider one of the best horror films ever. It is in a completely different league than this film, but what e-DEMON does demonstrate is that the basic concept of people being replaced by malign versions still has a lot of life in it left, particularly in light of new technologies.